movie review: the great gatsby

read our review before you see the film!

May 10 2013

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This week, Ray Siegel and Ali Hoffman--aka Siskel + Ebert--caught an early screening of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. The 3D blockbuster officially hits theaters nationwide today, but before you go see it, check out what these two super-tough film critiques have to say.AH: Okay, so it was clearly beautiful to look at. The costumes, the makeup, the set decoration--no detail was forgotten. It also made me feel like technology has finally caught up with Luhrmann's mind. Meaning, if the technology had been as advanced when he made Romeo + Juliet and even Moulin Rouge, he would have definitely used all the bells and whistles with those as well.RS: Yeah, Romeo + Juliet was far more serious portrayal of a love story. With Gatsby, Luhrmann almost turned each character into caricatures of themselves. So those scenes that you wanted to be more serious felt a lot lighter.AH: Yeah, I know what you mean. It was a lot more of a satire than the book. I didn't like that aspect of it.RS:But maybe it made it more fun to watch?AH:Yeah, agreed! Definitely didn't expect to LOL as much as I did. Which is never a bad thing. Should we talk about the music? Did you feel like it was weird to have Jay-Z rapping over those party scenes, while like a Josephine Baker girl is dancing? Did you feel like it took you out of context?RS:The part when they're speeding over the bridge and the car next to them is bumping Jay-Z and popping champagne--To me that's the clearest example of the music feeling out of place. I liked the hip hop heavy soundtrack--and how it was meant to mirror jazz in the '20s--but I did think there were a few too many Mr. and Mrs. Carter songs. Beyonce covering Winehouse was a bold move! AH: A very bold move. Yeah I liked the soundtrack as whole, but there were definitely a couple of moments when I felt like hearing Lana Del Rey or Jack White's voice made it hard for me to stay in the moment of the roaring '20s.RS:And the acting... AH:Tobey killed it. Isla Fisher's performance was great. And Carey and Leo definitely had chemistry.RS:Yeah, Tobey felt like your friend throughout the movie. I like how Daisey and Jordan nailed their characters--they were strong in the way that they could control men and control the room, but also weak.AH:Yeah I thought Carey did a great job at conveying Daisy as both sensitive and vapid.RS:No complaints to file about the wardrobe--how can you possibly speak ill of Miuccia Prada's work?AH:Amen.